Finistère
| coor_pinpoint = | coordinates_footnotes = | subdivision_type = Country | subdivision_name = France | subdivision_type1 = Region | subdivision_name1 = Brittany | established_title = | established_date = | founder = | seat_type = Prefecture | seat = Quimper | parts_type = Subprefectures | parts_style = para | p1 = Brest Châteaulin Morlaix | government_footnotes = | leader_party = PS | leader_title = President of the General Council | leader_name = Nathalie Sarrabezolles | unit_pref = Metric | area_magnitude = | area_footnotes = | area_total_km2 = 6733 | area_note = | elevation_footnotes = | elevation_m = | elevation_min_m = | elevation_max_m = | population_footnotes = INSEE Finistere 2012. Retrieved 10 April 2009. | population_total = 903921 | population_as_of = 2013 | population_rank = 24th | population_density_km2 = auto | population_demonym = | population_note = | blank_name_sec1 = Department number | blank_info_sec1 = 29 | blank_name_sec2 = Arrondissements | blank_info_sec2 = 4 | blank1_name_sec2 = Cantons | blank1_info_sec2 = 27 | blank2_name_sec2 = Communes | blank2_info_sec2 = 279 | timezone1 = CET | utc_offset1 = +1 | timezone1_DST = CEST | utc_offset1_DST = +2 | postal_code_type = | postal_code = | area_code_type = | area_code = | iso_code = | website = | footnotes = French Land Register data, which exclude estuaries, and lakes, ponds, and glaciers larger than 1 km2 }} Finistère ( ; ) is a department of France in the extreme west of Brittany. History The present department consists of the historical region of Léon and parts of Cornouaille and Trégor, both parts of pre-revolutionary Brittany. The name Finistère derives from the Latin Finis Terræ, meaning end of the earth. In England, a similar area is called Land's End. The Breton name for Finistère, Penn ar Bed, translates as "Head/End of the World" and is similar to the Cornish name for Land's End, Pedn-an-Wlas (Head/End of the country). Finistère is not to be confused with Finisterre in Galicia, Spain. Geography The largest population center in Finistère is Brest. Other large towns in the department include Quimper (the capital), Concarneau, Morlaix, Carhaix, Quimperlé and Douarnenez. Finistère includes the island of Ushant (Eusa in Breton, Ouessant in French). Finistère is the westernmost region of France (excluding the overseas departments in North and South America and the Antillas). By several criteria, Finistère can also claim to be the most coastal department in Metropolitan France. Of its 279 communes, 118 are located on the coast. Its total coastline of approximately accounts for almost a quarter of the entire Brittany coast-line. The abers, rugged fjord-like inlets on the north coast, are a notable feature of the landscape. The westernmost point of continental France, known as the Pointe de Corsen, extends from the northwestern tip of Finistère. A few miles to the south is the slightly less westerly, but rugged and isolated, headland of Pointe du Raz. Economy Agriculture, food processing and various related industries occupy an important place in Finistère's economy. The military presence in Finistère (Île Longue nuclear submarine base and the Naval Air base of Lanvéoc-Poulmic), as well as military-related industries, such as the Brest headquarters of DCNS, employ a significant number of the département's population. The port of Roscoff links Brittany by ferry with Ireland and Great Britain. Culture Finistère is the area where Breton survives most strongly as a spoken language. Breton-speaking schools are called Diwan, Divyezh and Dihun. The Festival de Cornouaille, which takes place in Quimper, is a celebration of Breton music and traditions. One of the highlights of summer in Finistère is the "Festival des Vieilles Charrues" held in Carhaix-Plouguer. Major international stars attract tens of thousands of spectators."Vieilles Charrues Festival", official website The painter Raymond Wintz (1884–1956) featured many locations around Finistère. Roland Doré sculptor. A sculptor who executed many of the calvaries in Finistère Tourism File:Quimper2011.png|Quimper File:Ouessant DSC02641.jpg|Granite rocks in Ouessant File:Phare de Pontusval 4490.jpg|Pontusval lighthouse near Brignogan-Plages File:ND de Tronoën Chapelle et calvaire 2.jpg|Calvary in Saint-Jean-Trolimon File:29 - Locronan.jpg|Locronan File:Concarneau - la ville close à marée basse.jpg|Concarneau File:Finis Terrae Finistère.jpg|Pointe du Chateau, Plougrescant File:20110824 Pointe de Pen-Hir (10).jpg|Pointe de Pen-Hir See also * Cantons of the Finistère department * Communes of the Finistère department * Arrondissements of the Finistère department * Ys * Calvary at Saint-Herbot near Plonévez-du-Faou and the Chapelle Saint-Herbot. References External links * General Council website * Prefecture website * * Finistère Tourisme, agence de développement touristique du Finistère Category:Finistère Category:Departments of Brittany